Cask-pitching machine.



H. RAUGH. om; PITGHING MACHINE. -APPLIO-ATION FILED FEB. 21,11908. 933 ,202, Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

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' ATTORNEY HENRY RAUCI-I, 0F MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK.

cAsK-rI'rcnnvs` MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. '7, 1909.

Application filed February 21, 1908. Seria1 No. 417,072.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY RAUCH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Mount Vernon, in the county of Vestchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Caskv Pitching Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in cask pitching machines, more particularly of the type which I have described in my United States Letters Patent No. 599,476, dated February 22, 1898, andV also in a further Unitedv States Letters Patent No'.

616,632, dated December 27, 1898. The apn4 cask to be pitched which is supported on thecover of the kettle. The pitch is ejected from the tank by the admission overv it of compressed air from some suitable source.

So far as above described, the apparatus is the same and operates the same as that described in my former patents. In operating such an apparatus, however, containing only the features above described, a difficulty is apt to arise, which it was the obj ect of the second of the said patents to obviate. The difficulty referred to is that the molten pitch left in the kettle after thev pitching operation, flows down into and lls the tank, and when the apparatus cools this mass of pitch hardens; consequently, it is only by using great care and skill that the apparatus can be reheated without creating in the tank such an internal pressure as will explode the tank before the entire mass of pitch is melted sufficiently to allow the same to escape through the outlet pipes. This difculty was sought to be obviated in the second of my above mentioned Letters Patent, by providing a relief device for the generated gases and vapors, so that they might escape prior to the melting of the entire mass of pitch and thus relieve the pressure in the interior of the tank.` The said relief device 'consisted, as will be more fully seen by reference to the said second patent, of a tube extending down nearly to the bottom of the pitch kettle, open at the bottom but adapted to be closed at the top when the apparatus was in use. A second tube, of such a diameter as to fit inside of the first mentioned tube, also open at the upper end but provided with a conical valve seat at the lower end was provided, and also a rod, the lower end of which was tapered into a conical form so as to serve as a valve. At the close of the days operation of the machine, and while the pitch in the tank was still warm, the inner tube with its rod valve n situ was inserted into the first mentioned tube and secured. At the time of the neXt operation of the machine, the pitch having become cold and hard, the inner rod was detached from the adhesion of the cold pitch which had congealed about its lower end, and removed from the inner tube, thus leaving a free passage from almost the bottom of the tank into the open air, through which passage the generated gases and vapors formed by the heating of thepitch could escape. The fire was then started under'the tank, and after the pitch in the lower part of the tank had become melted or softened it was possible to remove the inner tube, thus allowing a still larger and freer vent. When the heating and consequent softening of the pitch had progressed still further so that the same was liquid up to the lower ends of the pitch discharge pipes, so that there was no further danger of an explosion of the tank, a screw cap or other closure was applied to the upper end of the outer tube above described as vforming part ofthe pressure relief mechanism.

The apparatus last above described has been found to generally work well in practice, bnt has not been entirely satisfactory owing not only to the adhesion of the cold pitch to the lower end of the rod or valve above described, but also owing to the fact that4 several operations were required both at the close of the use of the machine and also'at 'the beginning of the next use, which operations required for their performance considerable care and skill.

The object of my present invention is to remove the difficulty above mentioned and to obviatev the danger of any explosion of the pitch tank, andl to provide means for the heating and liquefaction of the pitch, before llO the lighting ofthe fire, to a suh-cient'degree 'pitching machine constructed according to my invention, said section being taken on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a detail view showing in vertical section and on a larger scale a portion of the devices employed to soften the pitch in the lower part of the tank previous to lighting the fire under the tank.

A represents the` kettle or reservoir set in walls X over a furnace Y.V This kettle has a cover AX with a covered opening a therein for feeding in the pitch, a screen to screen out foreign substances from the pitch, and one or more tanks B below the bottom c of the kettle to receive a predetermined quantity of molten pitch, which latter flows down into the tank through a valve-controlled inlet cl.' The compressed air is admitted to the .tank by pipes e, and the pitch is discharged into the cask through an upright pipe f, having on its upper end a hose-nozzle g. All of the above is illustrated and fully described in my said former patent No. 599,417 6, and the operation in detail need not be described here. It is suiiicient to say that after the operation of the day is completed and the apparatus is allowed to cool oil', the mass of pitch e in the tank B becomes hard.

The devices which are the subject of my present invention will now be described.

Passing down through the cover A f, the kettle or reservoir A, and the partition wall c which'forms the bottom of the. kettle A and separates Vit from the tanks B B, are tubes 10, closed at their upper ends by caps 11 andprovided near their vupper ends with lateral escape cocks 12. The tubes 10 are open at their lower ends into the tanks B. Leading from some suitable steam generator (not shown in the drawings)V is a steam pipe 14%, which'passes downward into and through the tubes 10, forming loops 15 which extend nearly to the bottom of the tanks B and then return" to the lsteam generator, or passage into the open air, as circumstances may render desirable. Valves 16 of any suitable type are provided by means of which vthe passage of the'steam into either or both of the 'said loops Vmay be controlled.

Then it is desired to begin the operation of a' caskpitching machine constructed according to my invention, the kettle A and tanks B containing a greater or lessquantity of cold and hard pitch,vthe operator lirstopens the steam' valves 16 and thereby permits steam 'from the generatorto pass through the loops 15 oi the pipes 14. This results in softening and finally melting the pitch in the tubes 10 and the pitch contiguous to the loops 15 in the tanks B. It will ofcourse be understood that the escape cocks 12are opened, thus providing an easy egress ior any gases or vapors which may be generated from the heated pitch. The lire under the apparatus may then be started and before the sameshall have produced any appreciable heating eliect upon the pitch in the tanks B, the steam in the loops 15 will have softened the pitch in the tubes 10 and a portion thereof in the tanks B suliic'iently lo prevent any injurious effects such as have been above alluded to. As soon as the pitch in the tanks B and such pitch as iay be standing in the discharge pipes f has been thoroug'hly softened, so that an escape vent through said last named pipes is provided, the escape cocks 12 are closed, and the steam valves 16 are also closed so as to shut oli the steam from the loops 15.

Instead of providing loops of a steam pipe extending down through relief tubes and into the pitchreceptacles, as above described for the purpose of heating and softening the pitch, I may use a current of electricity, obtained from any suitable source thereof and led through proper conductors, which should or' course be insulated from the other parts of the apparatus in a manner which will be well understood. I consider this alternative means of heating and softening the pitch in its containing receptacles as within the spirit and scope or' my invention and do not wish to limit myseli to the use of steam or any one particular means of applying heat to the congealed and solidllied pitch.

Another feature oi: my present invention is providing means for hea-ting the compressed air supply which is lcd into the apparatus by means of the pipes c. By reference more especially to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the main compressed air pipe c is lead into the furnace smoke discharge pipe F and forms a loop c. Near the lowest. part oi' this loop ell may be provided a discharge cock c2 by means of which any condensed moisture in the pipe c may be allowed to escape. The pipe e then separates into branches e and c4, which lead to each of the tanks B and enter the same at the top, in a manner similar to that described in my former patents. Y A large pipe E is also provided, which passes through the apparatus back of the furnace, and is connected at one end with the source of compressed air, and at the other end with the pipe c or the pipe et (the connection not being shown in the drawings.) The air on passing through this pipe E is preliininarily heated. In this case it is not necessary for the air to be passed through the loop el, and the valve 17 is therefore closed.

It will be noticed that the steam pipe lll is shown as connecting with the pipe e and through that with the branch pipes c3 and c4. This is in order to permit the steam to heat and melt any pitch which may have become deposited orcondensed upon or in the three-way cocks 2-1 and 2-2 and which may hamper the operation of the same, and also to permit hot air to be passed through the pipes l0 and loops 15, instead of steam, if preferred.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

l. The combination with a cask pitching apparatus comprising a receptacle for containing pitch and a relief device adapted to permit the escape of vapor from the said re ceptacle; of means within the said receptacle adapted to heat and soften the pitch in said relief device so as to permit the said relief device to operate, comprising a closed loop of pipe. extending into the said receptacle and adapted to contain a heated fluid.

2. The combination with a cask pitching apparatus comprising a receptacle for containing pitch and a relief device adapted to permit the escape of vapor fromthe said receptacle, said relief device comprising a tube secured to the receptacle open at the bottom and provided with removable closing means at the top; of means within the said receptacle adapted to heat and soften the pitch in said relief device so as to permit the said relief device to operate, comprising a closed loop of pipe adapted to contain a heated fluid and passing down into said receptacle throughV said relief device.

3. The combination with a casl pitching apparatus comprising a receptacle for containing pitch and a relief device adapted to permit the escape of vapor from the said receptacle, said relief device comprising a tube secured to the receptacle open atboth ends but provided with means for closing the upn per end when the relief device is not in operation; of means within the said receptacle adapted to soften the pitch in said relief device, so as to permit the said relief device to operate, said pitch heating and softening means comprising a closed loop of pipe adapted to contain a heated uid and passing through said relief device and down into the receptacle.

l. The combination with a cash pitching apparatus comprising a receptacle for containing pitch and a relief device adapt-ed to permit the escape of vapor from the said receptacle, said relief device comprising a tube secured to the receptacle open at both ends but provided with means for closing the upper end when the relief device is not in operation; of means Within the said receptacle adapted to soften the pitch in said relief device, so as to permit the said relief device to operate, said pitch heating and softening means comprising a closed loop of pipe leading from a source of heated fluid and adapted to convey said heated fluid through the said relief device and the pitch contained therein and to heat and soften said pitch.

5. rEhe combination with a casl pitching apparatus comprising a receptacle for containing pitch and a relief device adapted to permit'the escape of vapor from the said receptacle, said relief device comprising a tube secured to the receptacle open at both ends but provided with means for closing the upper end when the relief device is not in op eration; of means within the said receptacle adapted to soften the pitch in said relief device, so as to permitthe said relief device to operate, said pitch heating and softening means comprising a closed loop of pipe lead ing from a source of heated fluid and adapted to convey said heated fluid through the said relief device and the pitch contained therein and to heat and so-ften said pitch;

and means for causing the heated fluid to pass through said pipe.

In witness whereof l have hereunto signed my name this 15th day of February 1908, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY RAUCH.

` l Witnesses:

EDMOND CONGAR BROWN, THOMAS P. DAL'roN. 

